


Entrusted

by digitaldreams



Series: Digital's Ikesoren Week Drabbles [3]
Category: Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: Fluff, IkeSoren Week, IkeSoren Week 2021, M/M, Role Reversal, not beta read we die like greil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-17 23:21:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28608207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/digitaldreams/pseuds/digitaldreams
Summary: Ike is fully aware of Soren's bad habits, and he'll do everything in his power to prevent them from growing any worse.
Relationships: Ike/Senerio | Soren
Series: Digital's Ikesoren Week Drabbles [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2093163
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16
Collections: IkeSoren Week 2021





	Entrusted

Soren’s late-night hours were something that the Greil Mercenaries had grown used to quite some time ago. It wasn’t unusual to see him sitting before the light of a flickering candle well past midnight as he scrawled out plans for a coming battle with his quill. Ike, who had come to share a room with Soren during the endless hours of traveling that came with the war, was more accustomed to Soren’s habits than any other, but that didn’t mean that he liked them. 

It was on one particularly late night that Ike found himself shaken from sleep by unpleasant visions of the past. He remembered the way that rain had fallen in sheets around him the night of his father’s death, and all thoughts of the impending march on the Crimean capital of Melior were pushed aside, only mere stressors in the grand scheme of the chaos that had festered in his mind. Ike sat up slowly, used to seeing these unfortunate images after months of constant travel, and allowed his own exhaustion to numb the agony that came with remembering the Black Knight’s sword and the way it pierced his father’s body months prior. 

Soren was still awake, and Ike let out a small sigh. If Soren noticed, he chose not to openly acknowledge it. Ike slowly got to his feet and moved towards Soren, wrapping his arms around the boy’s frail torso from behind. “You can’t keep doing this,” he pressed softly. 

The mage finally allowed himself to look directly at Ike, and he turned his head around so that he met his commander’s gaze. “I’m finishing up final preparations for--” Soren began, but he was ultimately cut off when Ike raised a hand. 

“Enough of that,” Ike told him. “You’re always pushing yourself too hard for the sake of the company. I appreciate the work that you do, but you’re not going to be able to keep doing this forever. It’s alright to take a break every once in a while, Soren.” He braced his hands firmly against the other boy’s shoulders and slowly eased Soren to his feet. “Listen to me, okay? It’s time to rest.”

Ike could feel the scowl on Soren’s features even if he couldn’t see it. “I need to make sure that our plans are perfect. This is a battle that we can’t afford to lose,” he insisted, clearly having no intentions of backing down. If there was one thing that Soren and Ike had in common, it was their stubborn determination when it came to holding their ground. Titania and Mist often commiserated with playful smiles that the two had learned it from each other, and Ike had to confess in times like these that he almost agreed. 

“You can spend time working on it in the morning,” Ike assured him. When Soren opened his mouth to object, Ike held up his hand once again, and his tactician fell silent, a scowl settling on his features. “Don’t think that I haven’t noticed. You say this every single time that I catch you staying up late. You want me to go back to sleep while you stay up and plan for the coming fight. You’ve spent too much time doing inventory, and you’re tiring yourself out. Stop it. That isn’t necessary, and you need time to recuperate too. Come on; you’re getting some sleep whether you like it or not.”

Soren was calm for a moment, and he took in a slow, whistle of a breath before releasing it. “Ike, I’m trying to help you,” he finally managed to say, though it was clear as could be that he was trying to find the words to phrase a thousand other sentences that would keep Ike calm and off his back. 

“You already do so much to help all of us,” Ike pointed out. “And yet, you never take care of yourself. I’ve heard from Mist that you’ve been skipping more meals lately, and I’m not going to tolerate something like that. You always did it back at the fort, and it seems that old habits die hard.”

“I’ve got it all under control,” Soren sighed. “You should go back to sleep while I--”

“That’s not going to work on me,” Ike said, his voice firm and offering no room for objection. “You’ve given me no choice, Soren. If you won’t follow my advice, then I’ll simply drag you off to rest myself.”

Soren let out a small yelp as Ike picked him up without any issues. The mage was thankful that he had already set down his quill to keep from spilling any ink anywhere. “Is this really necessary?” Soren questioned, enmity burning in his eyes. Beyond his frustration towards Ike’s actions, exhaustion thrived, and Ike wondered how many hours of sleep Soren had lost since the war started. 

“Absolutely,” Ike replied. His actions were as gentle as he could manage when he set Soren down on his cot within their shared tent, and the small mage let out a sigh, understanding that there was no way for him to escape. “Consider this an order from your commander if you have to.”

Soren shook his head. “You’re impossible,” he whispered, but his voice was filled with a weary type of affection that Ike found that he rather appreciated. Soren settled down on the pillow below, and his dark hair fanned out around him in a gentle display that made Ike smile. 

“You’ve helped me out so much in the past. Let me help you now,” Ike told Soren. He allowed himself to return to his own cot, and he kept his gaze locked solely on Soren’s body until after his tactician had given in fully to sleep. It didn’t take anywhere near as long as he had been anticipating, and Ike wondered just how long Soren had been running on empty, pouring from a glass that contained no liquid in the first place. 

Ike smiled as Soren’s breathing evened out to a predictable pattern. He allowed his own eyes to slip shut, and the world turned to darkness around him. Sleep came easily afterwards, and Ike found himself unafraid of the nighttime terrors that had previously haunted his resting hours. Perhaps it was Soren’s presence that fended them away. Ike wasn’t entirely sure, but he found it unimportant. Instead, he simply allowed the lullaby of Soren’s soft breathing to send him into a state of gentle slumber. 

Neither one of them woke again that night, and it was the most peaceful night of rest that Ike had received in a long time. 

**Author's Note:**

> Day three has arrived! Woohoo!
> 
> This chapter is a nice, simple little spin on the role reversal prompt for today, and I have to say that writing it was rather fun. Get Soren some sleep 2021 he deserves it
> 
> Tellius naming fact of the day! "Entrusted" is the name of chapter nineteen of Path of Radiance. I think it's fitting because of the trust that Ike and Soren have for one another, and that's how they're able to foster such a close relationship this way. I feel like we can mostly agree that Soren wouldn't be quite so accepting of Ike's suggestions if they had come from others because of the trust they share specifically, hence the title. 
> 
> That should be about it from me today! See you tomorrow for day four! I hope you enjoyed, everyone! 
> 
> -Digital


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